Donald Trump, who as we know takes his responsibility as Ukraine’s No. 1 corruption-fighter extremely seriously, somehow neglected to discuss corruption on his first call with new Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The White House released a rough transcript of that call today, and according to The Washington Post, it doesn’t jibe with the readout of the call that had been previously released:
The rough transcript of the call does not match the White House readout of the call from April 21. A White House readout is the administration’s post-call description of the conversation. The White House readout said the call underscored “the unwavering support of the United States for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” The readout also said Trump spoke with Zelensky about “reforms that strengthen democracy, increase prosperity and root out corruption.”
None of those topics are mentioned in the rough transcript released Friday.
What was discussed?
Donald Trump, of course:
At one point, Trump goes into a bragging aside about his own presidency.
“We have the most tremendous economy ever,” Trump says.
He also reverts back to his business career to share some positive sentiments about Ukraine.
“When I owned Miss Universe, they always had great people. Ukraine was always very well represented,” Trump says.
The transcript also showed that Zelensky was eager and determined to set up a meeting with Trump, but Trump was not as keen, ostensibly because “Trump told advisers in the Oval Office that Ukraine tried to hurt his candidacy, was a terrible country and to ‘talk to Rudy.’”
So what you’ve got is 1) the new president of Ukraine hoping to establish a close tie to the most powerful nation on the planet, 2) the president of the United States demurring because of a petty grudge based on a cuckoo conspiracy theory, and 3) the U.S. president later trying to extract favors from the Ukrainian president while fully aware that the Ukrainian president is desperate for a meeting.
Even without the $400 million in aid Trump was dangling, this looks pretty quid pro quo-y.
Of course, one of the biggest reasons Zelensky was trying to ingratiate himself with Trump was likely Trump’s own determination to build a palatial summer home in Vladimir Putin’s colon.
In other words, this White House conducts foreign policy based on who kisses Trump’s ass most vigorously.
That alone is reason enough to 86 the idiot.
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